Wilmington, NC News

Some unexpected foods causing food poisoning

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Though salmonella scares have made the dangers of eating raw or undercooked meat and eggs common knowledge, a new report finds that many other, more unexpected, foods also make the FDA’s “high risk” food list.

Using data on food-borne illness outbreaks over the base 20 years, researchers ranked the ten riskiest FDA-regulated foods. Beef, the #1 cause of food-borne illness, was not included in the list as the FDA does not regulate beef production.

Leafy greens topped the list, causing 363 outbreaks and over 13,000 reported cases of illness since 1990. Eggs and dairy products, such as cheese and ice cream, were also high on the list and these three products alone were responsible for over 500 outbreaks and 16,000 reported cases of food poisoning.

Other foods to make the list included tomatoes, oysters, potatoes, tuna, sprouts, and berries. Together these nutritionally healthy but potentially risky foods were responsible for nearly 600 outbreaks and over 18,000 reported illnesses.

To reduce the risk of food-borne illness, the FDA recommends that you wash fresh produce before eating, and refrigerate produce within two hours of peeling or cutting. Also, try not to buy bruised or damaged produce and discard the outer layers of green leafy vegetables.

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Though we are often wary of the risks associated with eating undercooked meat or eggs, a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest finds that a lot of food poisoning cases are caused by some unexpected foods.

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